Lions 2013, 6 must-see games

Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun06.26.2013

The B.C. Lions' July 4 home opener wiil feature the return of former Leos bad boy Khalif Mitchell, now plying his trade for the Toronto Argonauts after an off-season trade. Will there be fireworks? Perhaps. But there will certainly be a lot of attention paid to the hulking defensive tackle.

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VANCOUVER — Six games that B.C. Lions fans just should not miss watching in 2013:

1. July 4 (Thursday, 7 p.m.): The Lions’ home opener against the Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts could see a much-anticipated sideshow involving Khalif Mitchell, the newly-minted Argo defensive tackle who relieved the Lions of an on-going headache when he was traded to Toronto on April 2. An angered Mitchell accused Lions GM Wally Buono of duplicity and vowed to dismantle his offensive line the next time out. In response, Lions tailback Andrew Harris tweeted “good riddance”. One can only hope the game itself is as delicious as the pre-game rhetoric figures to be.

2. July 20 (Saturday, 7 p.m.): This evening is as much about the halftime as it is about the game, which will see the Lions and Eskimos meeting for the third time in a month (including a pre-season game). Two CFL legends — coach Don Matthews and quarterback Damon Allen — will be added to the Lions Wall of Fame during a halftime ceremony honouring two individuals who contributed substantial chapters to the team’s 60-year history. In 1985, Matthews coached the Lions to their first Grey Cup win in 21 years. Allen quarterbacked the Leos to their fourth Cup, in 2000.

3. Aug. 22 (Thursday, 4:30 p.m.): Lions are in Montreal for the first of two games against the Alouettes in the swan-song season for quarterback Anthony Calvillo. Both teams are preseason favourites to win their respective divisions. While B.C.-Montreal games on the West Coast traditionally are one-sided in favour of the Lions, confrontations at Percival Molson Stadium become full-on, last-possession-decides-it affairs that usually involve a playoff-like atmosphere. Alouettes make a return visit to BC Place on Sunday, Sept. 15, for a non-traditional 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

4. Sept. 27 (Friday, 5 p.m.): The Lions make their first visit to Investors Group Field — the new home of the Blue Bombers — more than a year after it was supposed to be ready. Plagued by construction delays, the stadium has become a money pit, and the press/media box facilities were deemed inadequate from Day One. That will have to be rectified if the Blue Bombers entertain thoughts of hosting a Grey Cup in 2015. Still, the 33,000-seat facility is a gem compared to Canad Inns Stadium, the Bombers’ former home which was torn down to make way for a shopping mall.

5. Oct. 4 (Friday, 7 p.m.): It’s a long wait — Game No. 14 — before Geroy Simon finally makes his anticipated homecoming to BC Place as a member of the Roughriders, following the Jan. 24 trade. The presence of “Superman” Simon in a green and white cape won’t be novel by the time October rolls around. The Lions play the Riders in the first of three games between the rivals on Sept. 22, in Regina. Simon turns 38 on Sept. 11. The question is, will he still be a factor at an age when most players are past it? Or, is the fading light of Simon’s career still capable of a spectacular sunset?

6. Nov. 1 (Friday, 7 p.m.): Book-ended by Calgary at the start (June 28) and finish (Nov. 1) of the regular season, the Lions play the Stampeders four times — more than any other club. (Five times if you count a June 14 pre-season game). Bodog has installed the Lions as Grey Cup favourites (7-2). Stampeders are right behind them at 4-1 odds. The path to the 2012 Grey Cup went through BC Place (Stampeders upset the rested 13-5 Lions, 34-29, in the West Division Final). If the past is prologue, first place in the West could be in doubt until the final gun of Game No. 18.

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